By DAVID CRARY / AP National Writer Gay rights, teen abortion, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s prestige. These and other volatile topics are adding spice to off-year elections in seven states where voters will be considering statewide ballot measures on Nov. 8. As is often the case, California has the most intriguing mix of propositions — including four…

LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles says he believes the pace of climate change is terrifying and people are becoming too dependent on technology. In a rare TV interview ahead of his official tour of the United States next week, Charles expressed concern that economic progress is “upsetting the whole balance of nature.” “You know, if…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has missed dozens of deadlines set by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks for developing ways to protect airplanes, ships and railways from terrorists. A plan to defend ships and ports from attack is six months overdue. Rules to protect air cargo from infiltration by terrorists are two months…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Democratic leader said Sunday that presidential adviser Karl Rove should resign because of his role in the exposing of a CIA officer’s identity, and a veteran Republican senator said President Bush needs “new blood” in his White House. Rove has not been charged, but the investigation continues in the case…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of Americans paid tribute to Rosa Parks under the dome of the Capitol Rotunda, waiting in line for hours to see the closed casket of the woman whose defiant act on a city bus inspired the modern civil rights movement. Elderly women carrying purses, young couples holding hands and small children…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush, stung by the rejection of his first choice, nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito on Monday to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his political base. “Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America,” the president…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Lt. Gov. John Wilder has reimbursed the state for a lobbying trip he took to Chattanooga nearly two years ago. Wilder said he wrote a $183.54 check to the state last week to cover costs incurred by him for the Dec. 18, 2003, trip. He made the trip to Chattanooga in his…

COLUMBIA (AP) — Two Columbia police officers are on administrative leave while authorities investigate whether the officers improperly handled an 11-year-old boy, police say. The two officers may have violated procedure and abused the boy when attempting to restrain him during a family dispute, said Chief Barry Crotzer, who declined to release the officers’ names.…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Black bears and wild hogs in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park won’t be as well fed as last year when acorns were more abundant — possibly causing the wildlife to reproduce less, park officials say. Park biologists say they were right in their predictions that last year’s large mast crop, especially…

Wartrace resident and Stutgart, Germany native Richard McKinley Cowan, 51, died Oct. 28 at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville after a lingering illness.A mechanical engineer with Southern Technology Inc. in Murfreesboro and a member of the Church of Christ, he was a member of AA for 12 years and served his country in the U.S.…